Ocala Civic Theatre opens season in epic style with 'Les Miserables'

J.P Leeman as Fauchelevent, Daniel Link as Jean Valjean and John P.A. Sherman as Javert, left to right, rehearse a scene from Les MisŽrables at the Ocala Civic Theatre on East Silver Springs Boulevard in Ocala on Aug. 29.

Facts

Exhibit

In conjunction with the production of “Les Miserables” by the Ocala Civic Theatre, the neighboring Appleton Museum of Art will present an exhibit of 19th century French artwork, the post-revolution period depicted in the popular musical.The display of paintings and sculpture from the Appleton collection and on loan from the Daytona Museum of Arts and Sciences is scheduled to open Sept. 14 and run through Nov. 3.— Rick Allen

The operetta/musical, which ran on Broadway with 6,600-plus performances in 16 years — the fourth longest run — and is going back in the spring, will run for 28 performances at OCT.

"But there are no doubles (two performances in one day) this time," said Mary Britt, OCT's executive director. "That would just be too much on the cast's voices."

You see, the long-running musical based on Victor Hugo's novel set in the tumultuous French Restoration of the early 19th century is what's known as a "sing through." There are only a handful of spoken lines; the bulk of the story is sung by one or more of the 41 players in this production.

Briefly, the story follows Jean Valjean (played here by Daniel Link) after his release from 19 years in prison for stealing bread. A kindness shown to him prompts reform. Yet he's pursued by Inspector Javert (John P.A. Sherman), who's convinced Valjean always will be a criminal.

Years later and now wealthy, Valjean agrees to care for Cosette, the young daughter of Fantine fired from his factory. Yet before he can, another man mistaken for Valjean is caught, and Valjean confronts a dilemma: "If I speak, I'm condemned, if I stay silent, I am damned."

He speaks, and flees to Paris with the girl for more years in hiding. Cosette (played as a child by Kelly Sawyer and Ciara Kelley, alternating performances, and as an adult by Bailey Diehl) grows and falls in love with a young Marius, who's involved in the 1832 Paris uprising — and ultimately brings Valjean into Javert's world one more time.

Hugo's story has been produced on film five times, including last year's first-ever film version as a musical; it captured three Oscars, including Anne Hathaway in a supporting role as Fantine.

On Broadway, the musical won eight Tony Awards in 1987.

"This is one of the most vocally challenging shows we've ever done," Britt said.

And while it's one of the largest casts assembled for an OCT production, nearly three times as many hopefuls showed up for auditions several months ago, she added.

The cast is made up of newcomers and many familiar OCT faces.

"Many of them in their program biographies said it's been their dream just to be in 'Les Miz,' " Britt added.

The musical contains some of the most stirring and emotion-packed songs ever to come from the stage; among them "One Day More," "Castle on a Cloud," "Do You Hear the People Sing?" and "I Dreamed a Dream."

Producing "Les Miz," as it's commonly called, has been a dream at OCT for years.

As soon as community theater rights were released, Ocala's theater jumped at the opportunity.

"Community theaters have been itching to do the show since the late 1980s when availability was first promised, but for one reason or another, the owners of the property held onto (it) until now," noted Ron Ziegler, field services director with the American Association of Community Theatre, an affiliation of 7,000 groups around the country.

" 'Les Miserables' is a huge event for any theater regardless of size," he noted. "In the first place, it takes a very talented pool of singers to pull off the rather difficult material, and there can be no weak links because of the demands of the score.

"Second, because of the sweep of the story and the enormity of audience expectations, the show needs to be scenically interesting at least and spectacular at best."

Ziegler, who directed at OCT in the past, added, "I do know Ocala Civic Theatre is up to the task. … I know the talent pool is quite remarkable, and the technical staff is second to none."

The set design was a challenge. OCT is contractually banned from staging "Les Miz" as it was on Broadway — no turntable, no hydraulics for the bridge. New York scenic designer James Morgan of the York Theatre Company instead created huge digitized panels and a barricade that rolls almost into the audience's lap.

An orchestra pit in the middle of the stage doubles as the entrance to the Paris sewers.

"And lights are key to creating many of the effects of what's on stage," said technical director Timothy Dygert.

Jim Sohre, debuting as an OCT director with "Les Miz," was among the first ever to direct the show, a dozen years ago in Heidelberg, Germany, with a military theater group there.

"It's been a challenge only in some of the roles are very difficult and finding the actors can be difficult," he said. "But we have some exceptional talent, and I think everyone is going to be surprised that these are not paid performers."

What audiences can expect, Sohre added, is "an incredible journey with these characters; there are setbacks as in life, the whole story is redemption. No matter how hard it may seem, there is redemption for all of us.

"It's a very satisfying theatrical journey that we take."

Contact Rick Allen at rick.allen@starbanner.com or 867-4154.

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